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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 7955691, member: 81887&quot;]My first Parthian collection had about 400 coins, all different, and it was nowhere near complete.&nbsp; But if by &quot;a series that I can finish&quot; you just mean one portrait drachm for each ruler:</p><p><br /></p><p>First, there&#039;s the eternal problem that attributions of Parthian coins to specific rulers are often debated, and the accepted ID can change.&nbsp; The attributions by G.R.F. Assar given in his various articles (and conveniently assembled in his essay in the Sunrise collection book) are the most recent and are gaining acceptance among collectors and dealers, but that&#039;s not to say that someone won&#039;t come along and revise them in a few years.&nbsp; If that uncertainty bothers you, turn back now, Parthian coins are not for you.&nbsp; But if you can deal with lack of certainty, here&#039;s some general observations:</p><p><br /></p><p>If you want well-struck drachms in lightly circulated (say VF+ or so) grade, the majority of rulers can be found for under $250.&nbsp; (Prices for Parthian coins, along with all others, have been creeping up lately, so these may be out of date, but the overall pattern holds.)&nbsp; Many of the exceptions are in the early part of the series- Arsakes I (the first Parthian king) is going to cost a few thousand bucks, Arsakes II at least 500+ for a nice specimen.&nbsp; Drachms of Phraatakes alone are reasonable, but with his co-ruler and wife/mother Musa the cost goes up to maybe 800-1000 for a VF specimen.&nbsp; There&#039;s the Sellwood Type 49.1 drachm of Pacoros, son of Orodes II, which is extremely rare and you will probably not be able to buy for any price.&nbsp; A few rulers like Orodes III may not have struck drachms but did strike other denominations.&nbsp; Osroes I (with his poodle-like hair) is expensive, as is the last Parthian king, Artabanos VI (called Artabanos IV in older references - see what I mean about shifting attributions?).</p><p><br /></p><p>Of course there are very general observations, and I&#039;m surely forgetting some other rare rulers.&nbsp; Some of the kings issued multiple portrait types, with some common but others rare for the same king; would you settle for just a common type to represent that king, or would you seek out the rarer portrait types as well?&nbsp; I don&#039;t intend to discourage you from this project, I just want you to carefully plan out in advance so you can proceed intelligently.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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